Emma Roddick

Emma Roddick (born 30 July 1997) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. Emma served as the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees between 2023 and 2024; stepping down when John Swinney was appointed first minister  She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Highlands and Islands since May 2021.

Early life
Roddick was born to Sue, a social worker, and Davy Roddick and lived in Alness from an early age. She moved to Inverness as a teenager to work in a temporary position at University of the Highlands and Islands, while also working on her bike for Deliveroo. Both of her parents had died by the time she was elected in May 2021. She formerly worked for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Roddick, who has Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and PTSD, started a petition in 2017 to improve the available services from Scotland's NHS24 helpline. In 2020 the campaign proved successful, and NHS 24 added option 3 to their service.

Political career
In November 2019 she was elected in a by-election as a Councillor, representing the Inverness Central ward of the Highland Council. Shortly after starting her campaign, she became the target of mostly anonymous online death and rape threats, and had her home broken into twice. The month before, she refused to sign a petition opposing the Gender Recognition Act reforms, claiming the petition had "transphobic undertones".

On 8 May 2021 she was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Highlands and Islands. She was one of the youngest candidates seeking election, and the youngest MSP elected.

After her election in 2021, Roddick, who had experienced homelessness as a teenager, spoke about the financial burdens of running for office which provide barriers to young and working-class people running, and highlighted the initial cost of being an MSP.

In 2023, she was appointed to the Yousaf government as Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees, before stepping down in 2024

Personal life
Roddick plays the fiddle. She lives in Merkinch in Inverness and identifies as bisexual.